Brooklyn Nets sign Spurs assistant GM Sean Marks as General Manager

Marks (L) with Tony Parker

After raising their overnight contract offer, the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday signed Sean Marks for their vacant General Manager position. Sources have told the Vertical, that Marks, an assistant GM with the San Antonio Spurs has signed a contract that spans for four years as GM of the Nets. 

"After an exhaustive vetting process, we are delighted to have Sean as our General Manager," Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said in a statement. "His experience on the court, in coaching and management gives him a 360 degree view of the job at hand."

Marks became a front runner for the positions when the Nets’ ownership and top officials fell in love with the Spurs’ way of executing things. With this change in scenery, Marks moves from a hugely successful organization over the past 18 years in the Spurs to a Nets team that is struggling at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a record of 14-40.

"I am very excited to be named the General Manager of the Brooklyn Nets, and to become a member of the vibrant and dynamic organization that represents Brooklyn," Marks said in a statement. "I would like to thank Nets' ownership for giving me this opportunity, and I look forward to the challenge of creating a unified culture and building a winning team."

In mid-January after losing nine straight at home at the Barclays Center, the Nets majority owner Prokhorov made a surprising move with the firing of then Head Coach Lionel Hollins and the reassignment of General Manager Billy King. Since the firing, under interim Head Coach Tony Brown the Nets have registered a record of 4-13.

Sean Marks NBA career

Sean Marks spent 11 seasons in the NBA playing for six teams like the Toronto Raptors, Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Hornets.  He has won two NBA Championships with the Spurs, one as a player in 2005 and one as an assistant coach in 2014. He has played a total of 230 career games averaging 2.8 points, 2.2 rebounds at 44.8% shooting.

Marks has been working for two years under the tutelage of veteran GM R.C. Buford. He is well respected throughout the league and is graduating from the best management school in the NBA- The Spurs. Over the span of his two years with the Spurs, Marks has been a scout, a General Manager for the franchise’s D-League affiliate team (The Austin Spurs) and finally as the team's assistant GM.

A New Zealand native and graduating from the Spurs front office, Marks becoming the manager of a dysfunctional franchise such as the Nets is the best thing to happen to the team since they moved to Brooklyn.The Nets ownership should be given the props to finally make one good long term move, to appoint the General Manager (a really good one) before appointing the team's next Head Coach. Given his previous experiences in the NBA, it is safe to say the Nets are in great hands with Marks as GM.